Articles tagged with: ASH 2010 Meeting
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Opinion: Stem Cell Collection And Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment – In the latest article published in the opinion section of The Beacon, Lori Puente, whose husband is a multiple myeloma patient, wrote about her husband’s use of hyperbaric oxygen treatment to improve his number of stem cells available for collection. Lori’s husband Dave received extensive radiation for his bone damage. After being told that the radiation would likely severely hinder Dave’s ability to collect enough stem cells, Lori and Dave learned that hyperbaric oxygen treatment might increase the number of stem cells available for collection. Lori describes in her article how Dave underwent hyperbaric oxygen treatment and successfully collected enough stem cells for 11 transplants. To receive a copy of all opinion articles when they are published or if you are interested in contributing an opinion piece, send an email to .
The Beacon’s ASH 2010 Coverage Is Now Completed – As of yesterday, The Beacon completed its comprehensive coverage of the 2010 American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting, including more than 20 articles with daily updates from the meeting and in-depth summaries of key myeloma-related presentations. Discussions about presentations from each day of the conference can also be found in the Beacon Forums (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4).
SNS01-T Receives Orphan Drug Status For Multiple Myeloma – On January 3, Senesco Technologies announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the company’s lead therapeutic candidate, SNS01-T, orphan drug status for the treatment of multiple myeloma. The FDA uses the orphan drug designation to promote the development of new treatments for diseases that affect fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States. The orphan drug status provides the company with multiple benefits, including funding for clinical trials, accelerated FDA approval, and marketing exclusivity for up to seven years. Senesco plans to begin clinical trials with SNS01-T later this year. For more information, please see the Senesco press release.
Epizyme Receives $1 Million From MMRF And $20 Million From GSK For Research That May Benefit Myeloma Patients – The Boston-area biotech company Epizyme recently announced $21 million in funding for the research of histone methyltransferase (HMT) inhibitors. Epizyme’s research targets HMT proteins that regulate the on/off switch for genes, many of which are associated with multiple myeloma and other cancers. The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) awarded $1 million in funding to Epizyme for its development of innovative myeloma treatments. Epizyme will also receive $20 million plus additional milestone payments in a deal with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for the discovery and development of Epizyme’s HMT inhibitors. Epizyme will be responsible for all research activities up to the selection of a development candidate for each target HMT. From that stage, GSK will control all further development and marketing activities. For more information, please see the MMRF and Epizyme press releases.
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Results of a recent study show that multiple myeloma patients who were initially treated with either thalidomide or Revlimid demonstrated strong responses to treatment with Revlimid and pomalidomide following relapse. In particular, researchers observed the highest response rates in patients who received treatment with pomalidomide.
Dr. Sumit Madan of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, presented the study results at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in Orlando last month.
Research has previously shown that thalidomide (Thalomid) and Revlimid (lenalidomide), which belong to the same class of drugs …
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According to the results of a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, Torisel in combination with Velcade was well tolerated and effective for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.
Dr. Irene Ghobrial of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute presented the results at the 2010 annual American Society of Hematology (ASH) conference held in Orlando last month.
Dr. Ghobrial said the trial results were promising in heavily pretreated myeloma patients and that the combination of Torisel (temsirolimus) and Velcade (bortezomib) warrants further evaluation.
Torisel is marketed by Pfizer and is currently approved for the …
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Celgene Seeks Expanded Approval For Revlimid In Europe – The pharmaceutical company Celgene announced on Tuesday that it is seeking expanded approval for Revlimid (lenalidomide) as treatment for multiple myeloma in Europe. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will review approval of Revlimid for maintenance therapy of newly diagnosed myeloma patients who have not progressed after initial therapy with melphalan (Alkeran), prednisone, and Revlimid or after autologous stem cell transplantation. Currently, Revlimid is approved in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of patients who have received at least one prior therapy. For more information, please see the Celgene press release.
ENMD-2076 Is Safe In Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma (ASH 2010) – The investigational drug ENMD-2076, which is being developed by the pharmaceutical company EntreMed, is safe in relapsed / refractory multiple myeloma patients, according to the interim Phase 1 trial results presented at the 2010 Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Researchers tested four different dose levels (150 mg to 400 mg) in 28-day cycles. They observed progression of disease for all patients receiving the minimum dose of 150 mg. Patients receiving a dose of 300 mg achieved stable disease with reductions in serum M-protein. Researchers did not observe any dose-limiting side effects. Most side effects were mild to moderate and included nausea, diarrhea, and fatigue. The optimal dosage has not yet been determined as the trial is still ongoing. For more information, please see abstract 1957 on the ASH annual meeting website and the clinical trial description.
Daratumumab Emerges As Potential Treatment In CD38-Positive Multiple Myeloma – Preclinical results showed that the experimental drug daratumumab is highly effective at killing cancerous cells that produce the CD38 molecule. The Danish biotechnology company Genmab is currently developing daratumumab for treatment of CD38-positive multiple myeloma tumors. Researchers initially tested a broad array of CD38 antibodies against more than 10 primary tumors from myeloma patients, and daratumumab was found to be the most effective at executing the immune system killing mechanisms. Genmab is currently conducting a Phase 1/2 study to determine the safety and optimal dosage of daratumumab. For more information, please see the study in the Journal of Immunology (abstract) and the clinical trial description.
PBOX-15 Induces Cell Death In Multiple Myeloma Cells – Preclinical results demonstrated that the experimental drug compound PBOX-15 (1,5-benzoxazepine-15), discovered by Irish clinical scientists, is a promising treatment for multiple myeloma. Researchers found that PBOX-15 induced cell death in four different lines of multiple myeloma cells. In two of the cell lines, PBOX-15 increased the number of death receptor genes to stimulate cell death. For more information, please see the study in the British Journal of Cancer (abstract).
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The results of a Phase 1 trial suggest that the experimental drug PD 0332991 may be a safe and effective treatment for pre-treated multiple myeloma patients.
Dr. Ruben Niesvizky of the Weill Cornell Medical College, who presented the results at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in Orlando last month, pointed out that data about efficacy is limited at this point because it was a Phase 1 trial. However, he added “We are encouraged [by the results] because we have seen two very good partial responses.”
PD 0332991, which is …
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Results of a Phase 1 clinical trial suggest that the cancer drug Treanda, in combination with Revlimid and dexamethasone, is highly active and well tolerated in relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma patients.
Dr. Suzanne Lentzsch, of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Cancer Institute, presented the results of the study at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2010 annual meeting in Orlando.
Based on the safety of the Treanda, Revlimid, dexamethasone regimen observed in this study, Dr. Lentzsch believes that this combination may be particularly well suited for older patients …
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The results of a number of clinical trials for the treatment of multiple myeloma with Zolinza were presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2010 annual meeting. The trials, ranging from Phase 1 to Phase 3, studied Zolinza in combination with a variety of approved myeloma drugs for the treatment of both early and advanced stages of the disease.
Zolinza (vorinostat) is manufactured by Merck Pharmaceuticals. It is currently approved for a certain type of lymphoma and is being investigated as a treatment for multiple myeloma (see related Beacon …